The number of tourists who visited Malta surpassed the three million mark by end of October, making it the year with the highest number of arrivals two months in advance, figures released by the NSO showed Monday.
Last year, the number of visitors over 12 whole months amounted to 2,975,670.
Total inbound tourists for October 2024 were estimated at 355,561, an increase of 13.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2023.
During the month under review, a total of 329,388 inbound tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, and 19,118 tourists came for business purposes. The largest share of inbound tourists were aged between 45 and 64 (35.6 per cent), followed by the 25-44 age bracket (35.5 per cent). British, Italian, and German residents made up 43.5 per cent of total inbound tourists.
Total nights spent went up by 7.3 per cent when compared to October 2023, surpassing 2.2 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (87.1 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 6.2 nights.
Total tourist expenditure almost reached €356.5 million, an increase of 18.4 per cent over the corresponding month in 2023. The average expenditure per night was estimated at €160.8.
The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same-day and overnight visitors, totalled 203,950, or 57.4 per cent of total tourists (Table 1).
January-October 2024
Inbound tourists for the first 10 months of 2024 amounted to 3,108,352, an increase of 19.4 per cent over the same period in 2023. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 12.1 per cent, reaching almost 20.0 million nights.
Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €2.9 billion, 22.3 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2023. Total expenditure per capita increased to €936 from €914 for the corresponding period in 2023.
The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same-day and overnight visitors, totalled 1,831,807, or 58.9 per cent of total tourists.